I definitely agree with everyone saying that the ring size does not matter, but you know what? *most* girls, though they may say it doesn't matter, at some point in their life, it does.
I'm not saying all girls, and more power to you is they don't think that, but you know what? My mom and dad, who have been together for 30 years now, didn't have the money for a large ring, by any standards, when they got engaged. A few years ago, my dad slyly got the center diamond re-done with a *much* larger one, and my mom absolutely loved it. She even made a small comment about how even though she knows it's stupid, she loves all the comments she's gotten from all the other ladies about the size of it. Everyone likes that. I'm not saying spend 100K on a ring, I'm not saying a 1.5K ring, if that's what you can afford, is bad, in fact, if you love each other, then it's great. What I'm saying is, take into account the grander scale of things when buying a ring. When I was researching for my wife's ring, I got her input on what she might like, I researched the quality and the 4 C's, extensive research into the metal used in the band, and after all was said and done, I got her a perfect engagement ring and a perfect wedding ring, together costing $12,000 after tax. That was a great price, considering I did not to to a chain store, and between blue nile's pricing and the place I got it from, the difference was minimal.
The difference there is, 1) I could afford it at the time, which was great, 'cause I'd prefer to do that for her now rather than later in life. Obviously not everyone can do that.
2) I ended up getting all "950" platinum for all the metal in both rings. The rings were also a set. Platinum, as well as the binder I chose, is hypo-allergenic, does not get smaller over time, and is easy to polish. This ring, if our future generations want to, can be passed through our family. It will last a long time.
3) There is a channel setting, so there are an extra 12 diamonds in the wedding band and 10 in the engagement ring. Those diamonds were also selected to be in the top-tiers of the 4 C's
4) The center diamond was a perfect square (princess cut with a ratio of 1.0), and a perfect geometry, and I picked it out of 8 loose diamonds to assure myself it was perfect. it ended up being $6,500 for just the stone.
5) I love my wife. She did not demand anything from the ring, but I understand the importance on a grander scale. I bitch and moaned in the past about how diamonds were never that big a deal before DeBeers came in and blah blah blah, but guess what, that doesn't matter when you see the reaction, and you see it sparkling more than other rings out there that have major flaws. it all has to do with the sparkle factor.
P.S. There is no such word as "boughten." Major pet peeve of mine. Bought. It's like ebonics, yes, generally you can find instances, but it's more of an uneducated colloquialism, and is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Sorry. Just had to be said.
